Electrical Engineering—MS, PhD

Fast Facts

Department research is funded by multiple agencies and corporations, including the
National Science Foundation, the US Army and Air Force, Intelligent Automation, SINTEF
Energy Research, Xcel Energy, Eaton, the Michigan Department of Transportation, International
Transmission, American Electric Power, Consumers Energy, and more.

Several faculty hold editorial positions with major journals, including IEEE Transactions
on Image Processing, the Journal of the Optical Society of America, Applied Optics,the
International Journal of Modeling and Simulation, and the Journal of Electric Power
Components and Systems.

Members of our faculty have been named Fellows in the Association for Computing Machinery,
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Optical Society of America,
the International Society for Optical Engineering, and the Society of Women Engineers.

Graduate Programs in Electrical Engineering

Energy systems emphasize power systems, with renewable energy and power electronics
as other major areas of interest. Examples include protection, operation, and control
of power systems; theory and use of commercial packages for fault, power flow, and
transient studies; and power-system components— including transformers, rotating machines,
and circuit breakers.

Information systems research is concerned with the transmission, measurement, processing,
analysis, and interpretation of information-bearing signals. Areas include signal
processing, image processing, computer communications, and wireless and digital communications.

Solid-state electronics research spans electromagnetic wave interactions with materials,
micro- and nanoscale electronic materials and devices, and the quantum behavior of
solids. This research thrust explores applications coupling electromagnetic behavior,
photonics, electronics, VLSI design, quantum electronic physics, and sensing devices
that interact with the external world in complex, integrated microsystems.

Current Michigan Tech undergraduate students can earn a MS degree with just a single
year of study beyond the BS through the Accelerated Master's Program.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering also offers degree programs
in computer engineering.

Thesis Option

This option requires a research thesis prepared under the supervision of the advisor.
The thesis describes a research investigation and its results. The scope of the research
topic for the thesis should be defined in such a way that a full-time student could
complete the requirements for a master’s degree in twelve months or three semesters
following the completion of course work by regularly scheduling graduate research
credits. The thesis must be prepared following the current procedures.

Students must also report the results of the oral examination and submit a final thesis to the Graduate School prior to completing their degrees.

The minimum requirements are as follows:

Course work (minimum)

20 credits

Thesis research

6–10 credits

Total (minimum)

30 credits

Distribution of course work credit

5000–6000 series (minimum)

12 credits

3000–4000 level (maximum)

12 credits

Master's Degree Report Option

This option requires a report describing the results of an independent study project.
The scope of the research topic should be defined in such a way that a full-time student
could complete the requirements for a master’s degree in twelve months or three semesters
following the completion of course work by regularly scheduling graduate research
credits.

Of the minimum total of 30 credits, at least 24 must be earned in course work other
than the project:

Course work

24 credits

Report

2–6 credits

Total (minimum)

30 credits

Distribution of course work credit

5000–6000 series (minimum)

12 credits

3000–4000 level (maximum)

12 credits

Programs may have stricter requirements and may require more than the minimum number
of credits listed here

Master's Degree Course Work Option

This option requires a minimum of 30 credits be earned through course work. A limited
number of research credits may be used with the approval of the advisor, department,
and Graduate School. See degree requirements for more information.

A graduate program may require an oral or written examination before conferring the
degree and may require more than the minimum credits listed here:

Distribution of course work credit

5000–6000 series (minimum)

18 credits

3000–4000 level (maximum)

12 credits

PhD Requirements

To complete a doctoral degree, students must complete the following milestones:

Complete all course work and research credits (see credit requirements below)

Pass Qualifying Examination

Pass Research Proposal Examination

Prepare and Submit Approved Dissertation

Pass Final Oral Defense

The minimum credit requirements are as follows:

Total Credit Requirements

MS–PhD (minimum)

30 credits

BS–PhD (minimum)

60 credits

Individual programs may have higher standards and students are expected to know their
program's requirements. See the Doctor of Philosophy Requirements website for more information about PhD milestones and related timelines.

Thesis Option

This option requires a research thesis prepared under the supervision of the advisor.
The thesis describes a research investigation and its results. The scope of the research
topic for the thesis should be defined in such a way that a full-time student could
complete the requirements for a master’s degree in twelve months or three semesters
following the completion of course work by regularly scheduling graduate research
credits. The thesis must be prepared following the current procedures.

Students must also report the results of the oral examination and submit a final thesis to the Graduate School prior to completing their degrees.

The minimum requirements are as follows:

Course work (minimum)

20 credits

Thesis research

6–10 credits

Total (minimum)

30 credits

Distribution of course work credit

5000–6000 series (minimum)

12 credits

3000–4000 level (maximum)

12 credits

Master's Degree Report Option

This option requires a report describing the results of an independent study project.
The scope of the research topic should be defined in such a way that a full-time student
could complete the requirements for a master’s degree in twelve months or three semesters
following the completion of course work by regularly scheduling graduate research
credits.

Of the minimum total of 30 credits, at least 24 must be earned in course work other
than the project:

Course work

24 credits

Report

2–6 credits

Total (minimum)

30 credits

Distribution of course work credit

5000–6000 series (minimum)

12 credits

3000–4000 level (maximum)

12 credits

Programs may have stricter requirements and may require more than the minimum number
of credits listed here

Master's Degree Course Work Option

This option requires a minimum of 30 credits be earned through course work. A limited
number of research credits may be used with the approval of the advisor, department,
and Graduate School. See degree requirements for more information.

A graduate program may require an oral or written examination before conferring the
degree and may require more than the minimum credits listed here:

Distribution of course work credit

5000–6000 series (minimum)

18 credits

3000–4000 level (maximum)

12 credits

PhD Requirements

To complete a doctoral degree, students must complete the following milestones:

Complete all course work and research credits (see credit requirements below)

Pass Qualifying Examination

Pass Research Proposal Examination

Prepare and Submit Approved Dissertation

Pass Final Oral Defense

The minimum credit requirements are as follows:

Total Credit Requirements

MS–PhD (minimum)

30 credits

BS–PhD (minimum)

60 credits

Individual programs may have higher standards and students are expected to know their
program's requirements. See the Doctor of Philosophy Requirements website for more information about PhD milestones and related timelines.